Food bill to cover 70% population: KV Thomas

The government today said the draft Food Security Bill,which entitles nearly two-thirds of the population to subsidised foodgrains,was almost ready.

The Bill will legally entitle up to 70 per cent of population to subsidised foodgrains as against the NACs proposal to cover 75 per cent.

We are going to introduce the Food Security Bill,almost 65-70 per cent of the population are going to get the benefit, food minister K V Thomas said at the National Conference on Policy for foodgrains storage,handling and transportation.

A draft bill is almost at a final conclusive stage,he told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.

The National Advisory Council (NAC),headed by Sonia Gandhi,had recommended to the government to grant legal entitlement of subsidised foodgrains to 75 per cent of population covering both priority and general households.

But the Rangarajan Committee had raised concerns over foodgrain availability and suggested that foodgrains could be given to general category based on the availability.

Govt to lure pvt investment in storage facilities
The government today said it will create a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to attract private investment for setting up bulk foodgrains storage facilities. The proposed SPV will woo private investment in creation of bulk storage facilities besides playing the role of a think-tank to undertake studies on bulk storage handling and transportation requirement for foodgrains,KV Thomas said.